President Clinton today announced the selection of Dr. Lori
Esposito Murray as Special Advisor to the President and ACDA
Director on the Chemical Weapons Convention.

"I am delighted that Dr. Murray has agreed to return to
government service in order to lead our efforts to secure the
Senate's advice and consent to ratification of this vital
treaty," Clinton said. "Prompt Senate action on the CWC and
enactment of the necessary implementing legislation will give us
important new tools to deal with the twin threats of chemical
weapons proliferation and chemical weapons terrorism."

The Convention was negotiated and signed by President Bush
and submitted to the Senate by President Clinton. It is the most
comprehensive treaty in the history of arms control, banning not
only the use of chemical weapons, but also the acquisition,
development, production, stockpiling, retention and transfer of
such weapons. The President has declared the Convention to be a
central element of U.S. arms control and nonproliferation policy,
which will significantly enhance our security and that of our
friends and allies.

To date, the Convention has been signed by 160 countries and
ratified by 49. In his State of the Union message this year, the
President emphasized the importance of prompt Senate approval of
the Convention.

Prior to this position, Dr. Murray served as the Assistant
Director for the Multilateral Affairs Bureau at ACDA. She was
also Director of Russian Analysis at the International Republican
Institute, where she directed strategic planning and evaluation
of democracy programs for Russia and the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS). Dr. Murray has served as Senior
Legislative Assistant for Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-KS).

Dr. Murray graduated cum laude from Yale University with a
B.A. in History in 1977 and received a Masters of International
Affairs in 1981 and a Ph.D. in 1990 from Johns Hopkins School of
Advanced International Studies.

Dr. Murray resides in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband
and two children.